Longshoremen Union Boss Lives Large While Boasting About Crippling the Economy

In the interest of full disclosure, I once belonged to the Teamster's Union. It was mandatory for my job at a lumber yard, particularly as a truck driver. I never did discover the benefits of being in a union, although I suppose there were more benefits for the guys who worked there for many years as opposed to the few years I was employed there. I just know that I paid my dues every month, and that was the extent of it.

On top of hurricanes and everything else plaguing the country, we have a strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association that could bring everyone's life to a grinding halt within a few weeks. I don't know about you, but in my neck of the woods, we are hearing rumblings about Costco hoarding expeditions that will make the COVID panic look like a schoolyard slap-fight. But such is the nature of rumor mills.

As Matt pointed out, Kamla Harris is siding with the union. The Daily Wire noted yesterday that Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su came out in strong support of the striking dockworkers:

Su praised dock workers for putting “their health and safety on the line to keep working through the pandemic,” and slammed port owners for refusing “to put an offer on the table that reflects workers’ sacrifice and contributions to their employer’s profits” as “their CEOs bring in millions of dollars in compensation per year.”

 “The American economy has defied all expectations thanks to the Biden-Harris administration’s leadership,” Su said. “There is room for both companies and their workers to prosper. The parties need to get back to the negotiating table, and that must begin with these giant shipping magnates acknowledging that if they can make record profits, their workers should share in that economic success.”

Su's science fiction-esque perception of the economy aside, many Americans may appreciate the dockworkers' desire for better wages and keeping their jobs from becoming automated. That, of course, will likely only last until the store shelves are empty. Sympathy, like many other things, might be in short supply.

One person who will not feel the pinch is the union's president, Harold Daggett. The New York Post got a look at his 7,136 square-foot Sparta, N.J., mansion. The home reportedly boasts a pool, a covered bar, a pizza oven, a free-standing sauna, a guest house, and a five-car garage. The paper said that Daggett had a Bentley parked outside. It sits on ten acres of land. The paper talked with a realtor who said that in 2004, Daggett listed the property at $3.1 million. He subsequently dropped it to $2.9 million before pulling it from the market.

The Post reported that Daggett has an annual salary of $728,000 and rakes in $173,000 a year from ILA-Local 1804-1. The paper said that as the strike loomed, Daggett commented:

“They’re gonna be like this,” Daggett said, grabbing his neck in a choking gesture during an interview last month as it became apparent that the union and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), the group negotiating for the ports, would fail to reach agreement on a new contract.

 “I’ll cripple you. I will cripple you and you have no idea what that means. Nobody does,” he said.

 “I don’t have a f***ing crystal ball between my legs, but it will last very long, I would tell you that,” he told The Wall Street Journal.

This is from a man who lives in a mansion, possibly drives a Bentley, and pulls down a cool $901,000 a year. If the strike does last, Daggett is in no danger of running out of anything; for that matter, neither is Julie Su. On the other hand, the American people will definitely feel the gut punch in a worst-case scenario.

While we're thinking about it, do any of the members of the International Longshoremen’s Association own mansions and drive Bentleys? Are any of them earning anything close to $901,000? I doubt it, and I don't think anyone reading this enjoys that kind of lifestyle, either.

The plight of those struggling in the aftermath of Helene is not going to resolve itself soon, and if Daggett's threats come to fruition, what will happen to those people — or anyone else, for that matter?

While Americans don't want to see anyone on the unemployment line or lose their wages, it is hard to summon any sympathy when a man living as large as Daggett threatens to wreck the economy for everyone else.